Matthew Sussman Movies
Shakespeare's Macbeth is transplanted to a '90s New York gangland in this 1991 film. A hit man (John Turturro) is convinced to murder his boss (Rod Steiger) after his future as the head of the organization is ensured by three fortune-tellers. With the help of his domineering wife (Kathie Borowitz), the hit man murders his way to the top, but then faces the consequences. ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, (more)
Actor John Turturro spent a dozen years getting his script for Mac before the cameras; he'd originally planned to merely act in the film, but the stringent budget required that he direct as well. Turturro plays Mac, one of three grown brothers in an Italian/American family living in 1950s New York. His other siblings are would-be "macho man" Vico (Michael Badalucco) and idealistic Bruno (Carl Capatoro). All three are unhappily employed at a construction firm run--badly--by Olek Krupa. Convinced he knows more about the business in his little finger than Krupa does in his whole carcass, Mac sets up his own construction company, wooing away most of Krupa's employees. On the verge of great success, Mac finds that his brothers are unwilling to commit themselves to his new business, a fact that causes an irreparable schism in their relationship. Co-starring in Mac as John Turturro's wife is the real-life Mrs. Turturro, Katherine Borowitz. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Michael Badalucco, (more)
- 1992
- PG
- Add Brain Donors to Queue
Brain Donors is a game attempt to redo the Marx Brothers' A Night at the Opera in a contemporary setting. John Turturro plays the "Groucho" character, a shifty lawyer (he's even given a Grouchoesque three-barrelled moniker). Bob Nelson is the "Harpo" counterpart, a puckish handyman. And Mel Smith completes the trio as a Chico-like cabbie. All three conspire to save a failing ballet company on behalf of dowager Nancy Marchand, who does a film-length impersonation of Margaret Dumont. At times, Pat Proft's script comes off more like a 3 Stooges short than a Marx Brothers romp, but that's not so bad. What hurts the film is its fluctuating pace, which shifts into neutral just when it should go into hyperdrive. Will Vinton's Claymation opening titles supply some of the film's biggest laughs. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Bob Nelson, (more)
- 1993
The seven-year-old daughter (Madeline Zima) of prominent Broadway producer Gary Silver (Barry Primus) is kidnapped. As it turns out, the girl's abductor is her own natural mother. But things get even more complex -- and more unsavory -- when charges of sexual molestation enter the picture, leading to the requisite Law & Order surprise ending. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1995
In this comedy a married couple discovers that in order to save their marriage, they must first destroy it. The couple lives in New York and both are in their thirties. Art history professor Veronica is losing sleep from worrying about her tepid 13-year marriage to Garr. He too is feeling an itch that he would love his lovely co-worker to scratch. He stays faithful to Veronica until she unjustly accuses him of cheating and throws him out. She finds renewed zest with a handsome student and then a sleep therapist. The couple eventually comes back together after she sees him dancing to a disco song dressed as a woman. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Actor John Turturro, who made his directorial debut with the Cannes Camera d'Or winner Mac (1992), returned to directing with this period farce about a struggling, turn-of-the-century New York repertory company owned by Astergourd (Beverly D'Angelo) and Pallenchio (Donal McCann). Egotistical playwright Tuccio (Turturro) has written a new play, Illuminata, for the troupe's actress-manager Rachel (Katherine Borowitz), daughter of aging actor Flavio (Ben Gazzara), who's lost his memory. Tuccio would like to see Illuminata staged, but the owners feel the play is unfinished. Young Piero (Matthew Sussman) collapses while performing in Cavalleria Rusticana, and this provides the ambitious Tuccio with an opportunity to introduce his new work to audiences. Unfortunately, foppish critic Bevalaqua (Christopher Walken) is unimpressed and issues a vicious attack on the production -- while also making unsubtle overtures to company clown Marco (Bill Irwin). Diva Celimene (Susan Sarandon) seduces Tuccio with her promises to bring him worldwide fame and fortune. Other liaisons are played out with the juvenile leads (Rufus Sewell, Georgina Cates), a veteran clown (Leo Bassi), and a supporting actress (Aida Turturro). Shown in competition at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- John Turturro, Katherine Borowitz, (more)
- 1998
Two people are shot, one fatally, in a restaurant restroom. It may be that only one of them was the intended target -- or perhaps both victims were shot by mistake. Once he is in custody, the killer pleads not guilty, claiming that he was in a "dissociative state" at the time of the murder. The DA's office soon discovers that the accused is not the only member of his family to have employed this unorthodox legal strategy. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Carey Lowell makes a return appearance as former A.D.A. Jamie Ross, now in private practice as a defense attorney. Jamie's reunion with her former partner Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston) and boss Adam Schiff (Steven Hill) is hardly a festive occasion: She is representing a previous client who claims to have new evidence concerning a death-row prisoner. If what her client says is true, Jamie is in the unenviable position of going head to head with her ex-colleagues in a tense courtroom battle. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- 2001
The detectives launch an investigation when the body of a Hispanic male is found. The victim turns out to have been an illegal immigrant, one of several involved in a racket wherein automobile accidents are staged. Though many people are implicated in the accident scam -- a chiropractor, an insurance adjuster, a corrupt lawyer -- the DA's office must determine who will be held solely responsible for the murder. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmmaker James Mangold follows his Oscar-winning drama Girl, Interrupted (1999) with this whimsical fantasy. Meg Ryan stars as Kate McKay, a modern female executive in New York City whose drive to succeed in the cutthroat corporate world has left little time for romance. When her genius ex-boyfriend Stuart (Liev Schreiber) opens a portal in time, the experiment transports Leopold (Hugh Jackman) from 1867 to the present day. A charming bachelor and the royal "Third Duke of Albany" in his own time, Leopold is fascinated by the 21st century. As the courtly Leopold and the decidedly liberated Kate tour the town, a mutual attraction develops into something deeper, a relationship that's threatened by Leopold's temporary chronological status. Kate & Leopold (2001) was originally developed by co-screenwriter Steve Rogers as a project for star/producer Sandra Bullock, who had a hit with his film Hope Floats (1998). ~ Karl Williams, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, (more)
- 2007
While Norman Lloyd managed to avoid becoming a household name, over the course of a career in the arts that has spanned eight decades he's distinguished himself as an actor, director, writer and producer in film, television and the legitimate stage. In the 1930s, Lloyd acted in a number of ground-breaking theatrical productions alongside his friend John Garfield under the direction of Elia Kazan, and he later became a member of Orson Welles' Mercury Theater company. As a film actor, Lloyd has worked with such directors as Alfred Hitchcock, Charlie Chaplin and Martin Scorsese, and as a television producer his credits include Alfred Hitchcock Presents and an award-winning series of adaptation of great plays for public television. However, the show-business blacklist against leftist artists in the Fifties stalled Lloyd's career, and while he's always had the respect of his peers, for years he struggled to put his career back on track. Who Is Norman Lloyd? is a documentary by filmmaker Matthew Sussman which gives Lloyd and some of his illustrious colleagues the opportunity to answer the titular question while discussing his life and work; the film includes interviews with Ray Bradbury, Cameron Diaz, Arthur Hiller, Karl Malden, Pat Hitchcock and many others. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Norman Lloyd, Peggy Lloyd, (more)
